A First-Timer's Guide to Wagner's Ring This material © 1999 by Eric Rawlins. All rights reserved. The Story Wagner originally conceived of an opera to be called Siegfried's Death. He began work on the project around 1850. As he worked on the poem, he expanded it to include a "prequel" to be called The Young Siegfried. Eventually even that wouldn't hold his story, and it ended up in its present form of 3 operas plus an introduction. He worked on the cycle over several decades. After finishing up through Act II of Siegfried, he put the project aside from 1858 until about 1870, during which time he wrote both Tristan und Isolde and Die Meistersinger. The complete cycle was finished in 1874. The story comes, in a very general way, from the old Norse/Germanic legend of the Nibelungenlied ("The Song of the Dwarves"). I once tried to read a translation of the Nibelungenlied,but it had so little to do with Wagner's epic that I lost interest.

Wagner had his own interests, and he wanted to invoke his ancestral legends and put them to use to say what he wanted to say, and what was on his mind was the relationship between love and earthly power, and themes of yearning and loss. Like J. R. R. Tolkien, Wagner had an instinct for mythic storytelling, and so his very much invented story feels like something far older than it is. Neither Wagner nor Tolkien knew of Joseph Campbell, of course, but both their stories contain many of the same classic elements of the Hero Myth: Both center around a ring of power, and the attempts of various people to acquire it. In both, the ring carries with it a corrupting curse. Both feature an all-conquering sword which is broken and later reforged. Both involve a romantic partnership between a human hero-knight and a demigod female. Both involve a hero who fails and dies, but whose descendant, after a period of hiding in the wilderness, returns to fulfill the quest. Both feature a wise old man with a staff that is more than just a stick of wood.

The main protagonist of the Ring is not Siegfried (who was famously compared once to Li'l Abner) but Wotan, the king of the Gods. Wotan is a man who wants power, and the story is about how he sought it and the price he ultimately paid. He began his career (long before the story begins) when, as a young God, he cut a branch off the World Ash Tree, source of all wisdom and power, gave one eye in payment, and made from it a spear. Over the years Wotan increased his power by making treaties, which were inscribed on his spear as the embodiment of that power, until he made himself chief of all the Gods. And there Wagner's story begins... Das Rheingold The story begins in the depths of the Rhine river, where the three Rhinemaidens (think "mermaids") are playing in a state of primal state-of-nature innocence. Enter Alberich the Nibelung (dwarf) from a fissure beneath the earth, who spies the three and lusts after them. The Rhinemaidens taunt him and humiliate him for his ugliness and awkwardness.

In his rage at being rejected, Alberich steals the Rhinegold from them, having learned that he who is willing to renounce love will thereby gain the ability to forge a ring of power from the gold. The maidens had assumed that no one in his right mind would make such a renunciation, but Alberich is enraged and wants revenge. He disappears with the gold, leaving the bereft maidens to sing a song of loss and grief that will reappear all through the four operas. Alberich forges the ring and makes himself lord over all the Nibelungen. Meanwhile, Wotan wants a grand castle for the gods to live in as a testament to his greatness. He has contracted with the two giants Fasolt and Fafner to build him the castle. On the advice of the wily Loge, god of fire, Wotan has promised the Giants Freia, goddess of youth and beauty, in return for the building; Loge has assured Wotan that he will find him a way out of the deal. Fasolt and Fafner, having finished the castle, come for their payment.

Wotan is stuck; since all his power rests on the treaties inscribed into his spear, he cannot renege on the deal, and the giants make off with the terrified Freia. Loge, having learned of Alberich's ring, suggests to Wotan that they steal it from Alberich and offer it to the giants as a substitute payment. Wotan agrees, though he secretly plans to keep the ring for himself. The two go down into the earth to Nibelheim where the dwarves live. There Alberich has enslaved the dwarves and forced them to mine him an enormous pile of gold. Wotan and Loge succeed in kidnapping Alberich and take him back to the gods' abode on the mountain top. There they relieve Alberich of the hoard and of the ring. Alberich is as shattered by the loss of his ring as Gollum ever thought of being. He places on the ring a terrible curse, bringing endless misery to all who possess or seek it. Wotan and Loge offer the giants Alberich's hoard of gold in return for Freia.

Fafner accepts, though Fasolt has by now become rather sweet on Freia and wants to keep her. The hoard is piled up, but Fafner wants one last thing: Alberich's ring, now on Wotan's finger. Wotan refuses, the giants threaten to call off the deal and leave with Freia, and in the middle of the hubbub there appears out of the ground Erda ("earth"), goddess of the earth and the world's wisest woman. She warns Wotan to flee the ring's curse, foretells that a death-laden day is coming for the gods, and disappears. Wotan relents and gives the ring to the giants, who immediately fall to arguing about the division of the spoils. Fafner kills Fasolt on the spot, and goes off with the loot.

The problem resolved for the time being, Wotan and the rest of the gods prepare to enter into the new castle, which Wotan dubs "Walhall"--literally, the "hall of the fallen heroes." Fricka, his wife, asks him the meaning of the name, and Wotan says, "If what I'm planning works out, its meaning will become clear to you." The gods enter Valhalla, as the Rhinemaidens sing a mournful song of loss. Between the two operas What Wotan is planning, which doesn't become apparent until the next opera, is this, and it forms the driving notion of the entire plot: Because of his dependence on treaties, Wotan cannot himself take the ring back from Fafner; but if he can create a hero who is not dependent on him, who is not acting as Wotan's agent, that hero could slay Fafner and win the ring back for him. Wotan, always a great womanizer, descends to earth in human guise as "Wälse" and sires a pair of twins, Siegmund and Sieglinde, on an earthly mother.

He then abandons them to their fate, and starts paying visits to Erda the earth goddess. Erda bears him eight immortal daughters--the Valkyries (Walküre: "bearer of the fallen heroes"). Bearing in mind Erda's prediction of a final Armageddon of the Gods, Wotan instructs the Valkyries to roam the earth, inciting men to make war on each other so as to find the most valiant warriors, and when they fall in battle to carry them to Valhalla to abide with the Gods and (by the way) defend Valhalla in its eventual apocalyptic battle against Alberich's army. (The Valkyries are female, but they are warlike females. Not only that, Brünnhilde has to have a voice capable of outshouting a full Wagnerian orchestra for 4-plus hours. Hence the cliche of the massive armor-girt soprano with breastplates and horns.) Die Walküre A dark and stormy night (yes).

Siegmund ("victorious") arrives exhausted and weaponless at the home of Hunding (literally, "son of a bitch"), where he is tended by Sieglinde, Hunding's wife. (Hunding is a great character--a big, hulking brute whose entire life revolves around notions of kinship and warrior's honor.) Hunding recognizes Siegmund as his tribe's enemy, and tells him he can spend the night there, but Hunding intends to kill him in the morning. Left alone, Siegmund ruminates on his father Wälse, and his promise that Siegmund would find a magic sword in his hour of need. Sure enough, the sword is stuck in the ash tree that grows through Hunding's house; it has been there for years, and no one has been able to draw it forth. Sieglinde appears, and the two recognize both their kinship and their love for each other. Siegmund draws the sword, and he and Sieglinde run off together into the night. Back in Valhalla, Wotan's wife Fricka is furious.

She is the goddess of hearth and family, and here is Sieglinde renouncing her marriage vows and running off with her own twin brother. She demands to Wotan that Siegmund must die in the coming fight. Wotan explains that Siegmund is his only hope for a hero that will reclaim the ring for him. Fricka points out that, by giving Siegmund his sword, Wotan has taken away any claim Siegmund might have had to being a free agent, and therefore can't win the ring anyway. Wotan is trapped, and sadly agrees to Siegmund's death. He tells Brünnhilde to give the victory to Hunding. Brünnhilde is shocked that Wotan would turn against his cherished son, whom she too has loved from afar, but Wotan is firm and angrily orders Brünnhilde to do his bidding. Brünnhilde confronts Siegmund while Sieglinde lies asleep in exhaustion, and tells him he is about to die and be taken to Valhalla. Siegmund asks about Valhalla, and Brünnhilde describes it in glowing terms.

Finally, Siegmund asks if Sieglinde will be there with him; Brünnhilde says no. Siegmund says, "So greet for me Wotan and all the fallen heroes, for I will abide here." Torn by grief and moved by Siegmund's courage, Brünnhilde rebels against Wotan's will and assures Siegmund that she will protect him. At the moment of battle, Wotan appears and shatters the magic sword with his spear. Siegmund is killed. Brünnhilde gathers up Sieglinde and the shards of the sword, mounts her horse and flees. Act III opens with the famous "Ride of the Valkyries" as all eight gather on a mountain top with their load of fallen heroes preparatory to taking them to Valhalla. Brünnhilde appears with Sieglinde, in terror of the coming wrath of Wotan. To protect Sieglinde she sends her off with the shards of the sword to hide in the forest, telling her that she carries Siegmund's child.

Wotan appears, threatening thundering destruction to all who shield Brünnhilde, and the Valkyries flee in terror. In punishment for her disobedience, Wotan condemns her to sleep on a rock on a mountain top, to become the mortal bride of whatever man awakens her. As a consolation, he agrees to surround the rock with terrifying fire, so that only a man who knows no fear can reach her. Wotan has thus in short order been forced to renounce his two most beloved children--Siegmund and Brünnhilde. He is by now a very different person than the vigorous, ambitious God we first met. He knows now that he will from this point on be alone, and that he is powerless to keep Erda's predictions from coming true. From now on he is a spectator in the story's action. Siegfried In the forest, Sieglinde has been taken in by Mime the Nibelung, brother of Alberich. He knows the whole story and is only helping her in hopes of using the hero she is to bear to get the ring for himself. Sieglinde dies in childbirth, and Mime raises Siegfried to young manhood.

Siegfried is a child of nature, totally uneducated and not even very bright, but strong and--literally--fearless. He reforges his father's sword, and Mime takes him to Fafner to teach him about fear. Fafner has used the ring to turn himself into a dragon, where he sits in a cave and guards the Nibelung hoard. Mime brews up a cup of poison, which he plans to give to Siegfried as soon as he has slain Fafner. Siegfried kills Fafner (quite pitilessly; Fafner is not looking for trouble). Tasting of Fafner's blood, Siegfried finds he can understand the language of the birds, who tell him of the hoard and the ring and of Mime's treachery. Siegfried kills Mime. The birds then tell him of the woman lying asleep on a rock, and Siegfried sets off to find her. On the way, Siegfried comes across Wotan, now in the guise of a Wanderer. Wotan tries to bar Siegfried's way.

Siegfried, in a reversal of the action in Die Walküre, breaks Wotan's spear with his sword. Wotan's power is broken, and he slinks off, not to be seen again in the opera cycle. Siegfried climbs the mountain, strides through the magic fire, and awakens the sleeping Brünnhilde. (A note on Siegfried: He is a most unlikable character--arrogant, conscienceless, more than a little stupid, quite happy to slaughter people for the slightest of reasons, easily manipulated by other characters. My biggest problem with this story is that I simply can't fathom what Brünnhilde sees in the big lunk. He behaves so abominably that when he dies one is almost relieved.) Götterdammerung ("Twilight of the Gods") Siegfried takes his leave of Brünnhilde to seek adventure and heroic deeds. His travels down from the mountain top are described in the orchestral passage called "Siegfried's Rhine Journey." He ends up in the kingdom of the Gibichungs along the Rhine.

The Gibichungs are a gloomy and none too bright bunch, where king Gunther is advised and controlled by Hagen, Alberich's son by a human woman. They hail Siegfried as a great hero, and Siegfried in his naiveté swears blood-brotherhood with Gunther. Hagen slips Siegfried a potion that makes him forget Brünnhilde and fall in love with Gutrune, Gunther's sister. Siegfried proposes to Gutrune and then, when told about Brünnhilde on her rock, agrees to capture her to be Gunther's wife. As Brünnhilde sits on her rock, she is visited by one of the other Valkyries. It seems that Wotan came home one day from his travels with his spear in two pieces. He instructed that kindling be piled all around Valhalla, and sent two ravens out into the world as messengers. Since then he sits, the fallen heroes ranged around him in the great hall, waiting for the ravens to return and signal the end of the Gods.

She asks Brünnhilde to help, but Brünnhilde says she is now a mortal woman with the love of a mortal man and is no longer concerned with the fate of the Gods. After the Valkyrie leaves, Siegfried shows up disguised as Gunther and carries Brünnhilde most unwillingly off to the Gibichungs. The double wedding is planned amidst great merriment. Hagen's plan is to kill Siegfried on a hunting trip and claim the ring. While on the hunting trip, Siegfried passes by the Rhine and encounters the three Rhinemaidens, who chide him as the foolish child he is, and warn him that his life is in danger. Siegfried, ever confident, laughs at their warning, and Hagen duly slays him with a spear in the back. There follows the other great orchestral passage of this opera, "Siegfried's Funeral March." Back at the Gibichungs there is much acrimony, as Gutrune has been done out of a husband and Gunther out of a blood-brother. Hagen claims the ring on Siegfried's dead hand and moves to take it.

At that moment Brünnhilde appears. This is the "Immolation Scene," the longest single aria in the operatic literature. Brünnhilde orders Siegfried's body placed on a funeral pyre. She takes the ring from his finger in preparation to giving it back to the Rhine and thus cleansing the earth of the curse at last. The funeral pyre is lit, and Brünnhilde rides onto it on her horse. The fire consumes all, and the Rhine rises to flood the room. Hagen cries, "The ring is mine!" but is dragged to his death by the Rhinemaidens, who reclaim their gold at last. In the distance, Valhalla can be seen to be burning. The orchestra in these last moments plays a wonderful melange of the motives Valhalla, Magic Fire, and Redemption By Love, as the curtain falls. Wagner's Ring Cycle: where to start | Wagner - Classic FM Classic FM Become a VIP Wagner's Ring Cycle: where to start Richard Wagner 's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen', otherwise known as The Ring cycle, is the peak of operatic indulgence, excess and excellence. But how do you go about it?

What should you listen out for? And what on Earth are they all singing about anyway? Find out with our handy guide. The Ring - it's immense. Long, dense, mythological and, to top it all off, in German. The worst thing you could do, though, is be intimidated by it. Just because Richard Wagner 's masterpiece and calling card is a mammoth work (or series of works) doesn't mean you should treat it any differently from other operas. The best thing to do is take it slowly, grab a translation and prepare to get lost in some of the most intoxicatingly sublime Romantic music ever composed, like this… But first, a little bit of background info. Der Ring des Nibelungen (usually known simply as The Ring cycle) is essentially four very big operas, all linked together by the same story. In order, they are: Das Rheingold , Die Walküre , Siegfried and Götterdämmerung .

There's no real way of paraphrasing that story without missing most of it out but to put in simple terms it's a bit like this… The Story A magic ring is stolen from the dwarf, Alberich, by Wotan, King of the Gods. However, he ends up having it taken from him by two giants - most of the story is about Wotan trying to get it back. Then there's a whole other section about Wotan's grandson, Siegfried, who ends up getting the ring back, and Brünnhilde, Siegfried's lover, who also turns out to be Wotan's daughter (are you keeping up?). But these are just the main points - it's actually much easier than you'd think to keep up with the story, as long as you've got a translation handy or if you're watching a subtitled version. And the Sydney Symphony Orchestra have also put together this easy-to-follow(ish) video: Wagner took around 26 years to complete the whole thing, and it's easy to see why. There are all sorts of little interesting corners, quirky sub-plots, massive staging considerations and, above all, the incredible music.

Wagner's idea was that it should be a 'Gesamtkunstwerk' ('Complete Artwork'), a complete synthesis of music and drama where you didn't focus on one or the other - they just co-exist. But how did he do it? Well, here are some tricks he used: What's a leitmotif? Many of the characters, places and ideas in The Ring Cycle have their very own signature tune, or Leitmotif . Rather than an excuse to eat up composing time, the Leitmotifs act as a reminder about those characters, and Wagner occasionally changes them slightly to change how you feel about who it's representing. So for Siegfried, the hero, we have this rather nice Leitmotif: But for the two giants who take the ring from Wotan, Fafner and Fasolt, there's a rather more lumbering, threatening Leitmotif: And here's one for a storm, summoned by Donner, the God of Thunder. Obviously. There are dozens more to explore besides these two, and it's great fun to get to know them so you can anticipate a character's appearance in the drama.

It's all designed to involve the listener even more and without them even realising. Extra instruments Unsurprisingly, a convincing performance of The Ring cycle needs some pretty serious orchestral clout. That means a lot of extra instruments. So, alongside the usual orchestral instruments, you'll hear tam-tams, Wagner tubas, anvils (18 of them), steerhorns and all sorts of extra on-stage instruments too. Here's a fantastic anvil-eye view of the offstage anvils during Die Walküre from the Manchester International Festival: Isn't it all a bit complicated? We can't deny that The Ring cycle is a challenge for any listener, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a go. As with so many things in opera , you get out what you put in - if you make the effort, then it's a joy to experience. If you're lucky enough to watch it live (it's often performed over four consecutive nights) then you're in for a real treat - incredible sets, wonderful music, bonkers storylines… and all for just one little bit of jewellery.

Oh, and there's this war-film-inspiring gem at the beginning Die Walküre as well: Wagner's Ring Cycle - The Epic Ring Des Nibelungen Wagner's Ring Cycle The Epic Ring Des Nibelungen Wagner's Ring Cycle (Der Ring des Nibelungen in German) is an epic four-opera story, magically illustrated by a breathtaking orchestral sound world... The composer tells the 16+ hour long story using a ridiculously huge orchestra, which he uses to captivate listeners with magical colors and ingenious storytelling devices. Wagner's Ring Cycle is incredibly important in the history of music. This is for a number of reasons: its massive scope and length, its philosophical ideas, and because it has very powerful and beautiful music. Wagner's idea was to have a three evening event, with a "preliminary" evening as well (to warm the audience up...). History of the Ring Cycle Wagner's Ring Cycle grew and grew out of a single idea. Wagner originally wanted to write a single opera called "The Death of Siegfried". He got the inspiration for this from Norse mythology and an ancient German epic called the "Nibelunglied".

He found that the story was getting too complex, however, and decided he need to add another opera in front to explain what was going on. But the same thing happened again, and he ended up adding two more operas in front of the first two (to explain the explanation!). The result was the text of the four-opera Ring Cycle. It took Wagner about 21 years after that to finish composing all the music for Der Ring des Nibelungen. To be fair though, he did take 12 years off while in the middle of writing Siegfried (the third opera)! Wagner envisioned a special opera house created especially to perform the Ring Cycle. He eventually designed and constructed the Bayreuth Festspielhaus , where the full Ring Cycle was premiered on August 13, 1876 . King Ludwig of Bavaria, being the Wagner fan that he was, ordered the first two operas of the Ring Cycle (Das Rheingold and Die Walkure) to be performed before Wagner had finished the other two. Wagner really didn't want this to happen, but the King's word was final! So Wagner kept it a secret when he finished Siegfried (no.3).

To understand more about the Ring cycle, it's worth having a look at the plot... The Gigantic Plot Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold) The three Rhinemaidens are playing in the Rhine. Alberich (a dwarf, the Nibelung of the title) lusts after them, but they reject him. Alberich is pretty angry, so he gives up on love altogether and steals the Rhinemaidens gold, planning to use it to create an all powerful ring and dominate the world. Later, Wotan (the leader of the gods) descends to earth and kidnaps Alberich and the ring, to pay off two giants (Fasolt and Fafner) who built the gods' shiny new castle Valhalla. I guess it's one way to pay the mortgage... Alberich puts a curse on the ring which dooms whoever it touches. The giants fight over it, and Fafner kills Fasolt. The gods then enter their new golden castle across a rainbow bridge in a spectacular finale, while the Rhinemaidens below lament the stolen gold. I really like this last scene.

Die Walkure (The Valkyrie) Siegmund (Wotan's son) is running from pursuers, weaponless. He stumbles into a house where Sieglinde and Hunding (a hunter) live. Hunding realizes that Siegmund is the man he was after, and tells him they must fight in the morning. Sieglinde, desperate, gives Hunding a sleeping potion and urges Siegmund to escape. The pair realize they are twins (Sieglinde is Wotan's daughter). Siegmund pulls an ancient sword out of the tree in the house, and claims Sieglinde as his bride (huh?). Wotan asks the Valkyrie Brunnhilde to protect Siegmund in the fight. Wotan's wife Fricka (goddess of all things marriage) appears and tells him he has to protect Hunding instead, otherwise his power will go. Wotan gets really frustrated, and sullenly tells Brunnhilde she has to protect Hunding instead. Brunnhilde meets Siegmund and is impressed by his bravery. She decides to help him instead and disobey Wotan.

Hunding and Siegmund fight, but Wotan appears and breaks Siegmund's sword. Hunding then slays Siegmund. Brunnhilde escapes with Sieglinde and the broken sword. Wotan then punishes Brunnhilde by putting her in a deep sleep surrounded by fire, to be the bride of whomever wakes her. Siegfried At the beginning of the third opera in Wagner's Ring Cycle, Alberich's brother the dwarf Mime (pronounces Me-meh) has raised Siegfried (Siegmund and Sieglinde's son) for 20 years in a cave in a forest. A mysterious Wanderer (just Wotan in disguise) arrives and plays a game of riddles with Mime. He then tricks the dwarf into planning to Siegfried to kill Fafner the giant, who's transformed into a dragon and is guarding a mountain of treasure. Mime persuades Siegfried to fight the dragon, and plans to poison Siegfried after he's won. Before the fight, Siegfried befriends a little forest bird. He tries to talk to it by making his own flute, but it doesn't work.

Siegfried encounters the dragon Fafner and kills him in a fun battle scene. When pulling out his sword from Fafner's body, he accidentally tastes the dragon's blood. This magically makes him able to talk to and understand the forest bird (I want some!). The bird warns him about Mime, and tells him about a beautiful woman high up on the rocks. Siegfried kills Mime and heads for the woman. He finds Brunnhilde, and wakes her with a kiss. The opera ends with their massive love duet. Gotterdammerung (Twilight of the Gods) The last opera in Wagner's Ring Cycle begins exactly where the last one left off. The lovers, now more mature, sing about their love, then separate. Siegfried sails down the river Rhine in a scene with some amazing Wagnerian water music. He reaches the Gibichung's hall. There he meets Gunther, his sister Gutrune, and Hagen (Alberich's son). Hagen wants the ring, so he tricks Siegfried into drinking a love potion which makes him fall in love with Gutrune.

Siegfried now returns to Brunnhilde, using the Tarnhelmet to disguise himself as Gunther. He forces Brunnhilde to return to the Gibichung's hall and marry Gunther, so that Siegfried can marry Gunther's sister Gutrune. During the wedding, Brunnhilde realises that she has been betrayed by Siegfried, and is bent on vengeance. She tells Gunther that Siegfried was already married to her. Then she tells Hagen that Siegfried has a weak point on his back (since he would never turn and run from an enemy). Hagen arranges a hunting party and stabs Siegfried in the back with his spear. Here is where things get a bit crazy... Hagen kills Gunther after they fight about who gets the ring. Brunnhilde realizes that she and Siegfried were both tricked. She sets fire to Siegfried's funeral pyre, mounts her horse, and leaps into the raging flames. The Rhine river overflows while Valhalla bursts into flames.Hagen jumps into the Rhine after the ring, but the Rhinemaidens drown him and get the ring back. The End!

The Sublime Music Wagner's Ring Cycle has a reputation of being BIG! It's where the clichéd image of the fat opera singer with a horned helmet comes from. It's true that singers need superhuman amounts of power and stamina to perform the cycle, but that image isn't really true! Wagner's huge orchestra allows him to create a really wide range of orchestral colors, as well as make the music staggeringly heavy and rich. There are hundreds of different shades, moods, and feelings which Wagner creates in the Ring Cycle just using various combinations of instruments. Somehow he also evokes images of the action through the orchestra. For example, in the forging scene in Siegfried, the music seems to me to be fire, steam, metal, and hard toil. Leitmotifs Wagner's Ring Cycle has a massive system of leitmotifs (little melodic fragments which represent a person, place, idea, etc.). These all interconnect, blend, and transform to tell the story through music as well as drama. Sometimes the music even lets the audience know things the characters don't (like when Siegmund is talking about his unknown father, the orchestra plays the Wotan motif).

Here are some of the most important leitmotifs from Wagner's Ring Cycle: Siegfried the Hero: this noble theme represents Siegfried as a mighty hero. Siegfried's Horn Call: this is the energetic and adventurous fanfare which Siegfried plays on his horn. The Sword: this motif represents Siegfried's sword. The Curse: a powerful and scary theme which represents the fatal curse which Alberich put on the ring. Valhalla: a beautiful and solemn melody which depicts the glorious castle of the gods. Valkyrie: this warlike melody represents the Valkyries, who take dead heroes back to Valhalla for Wotan. Magic Fire Music: this theme represents Loge (the demi-god of fire) at first, but later on in the cycle Wagner uses it to represent the magic fire that surrounds Brunnhilde. Dragon: an evil-sounding theme, played in the bass, which depicts the massive and frightening dragon Fafner. Valkyrie: this warlike melody represents the Valkyries, who take dead heroes back to Valhalla for Wotan. Wotan: this strong motif depicts Wotan's spear and his power.

Here's an example of leitmotifs being combined to help tell the story: When Siegfried fights the dragon: Sword theme (Siegfried is fighting with his sword) + Siegfried's Horn Call (to illustrate his courage and enthusiasm) + Dragon (illustrating the dragon in battle): There are so many of these combinations and blendings that probably Wagner didn't know of them all (ok, maybe he did...). But I hope this shows you how fundamentally important the music of Wagner's Ring Cycle is to the story. Recordings One of my favorite recordings of Wagner's Ring Cycle is the 1966 Bayreuth recording conducted by Karl Bohm (the clips above are from this recording). I just love how well the singers fit their different roles, especially Wolfgang Windgassen as a youthful and energetic Siegfried (he could have had a little bit more power in his voice though), and Theo Adam as a noble and wise Wotan. Recommended. Brief Summary of the Ring A Brief Synopsis of Der Ring des Nibelungen Background (from Alan Blyth's Wagner's Ring: An introduction, 4-5).

"In November 1851, Wagner drafted a first scenario for Das Rheingold, projected in three acts, with the title The Rape of the Rheingold. Then came a tentative sketch for Die Walkure, or at least two acts of it... by December 1852 he was able to write at the end of his huge manuscript: 'Close of the stage-festival play'. By now he had come to see that no known stage could present his vast work adequately: a specially built festival theatre would be required." "So, by 1853 Wagner was at last ready to begin composing the music. For this he began at the beginning with Das Rheingold, now reduced from three acts to one. That work took him...six months. Die Walkure was begun in the summer of 1854 and completed in the spring of 1856, when Siegfried was started. The first two acts took him from September that year until July 1857. Then came the big break during which he wrote Tristan und Isolde and Die Meistersinger no less, before he resumed work on Siegfried in March 1869.

Gotterdammerung was begun in the autumn of that year and completed on 21 November 1874." Plot Summaries of the Four Operas of the Ring Cycle 1. Das Rheingold: "Rhinegold" The first act of this first opera begins with a scene in which a dwarf named Alberich seizes the gold of the Rhinemaidens. Alberich denounces love in order to gain possession of the magic ring which gives its wearer ultimate power. This scene sets up the Ring as the most desireable object in the world, and thus it establishes the fundamental intrigue that lasts throughout the entire cycle of the Ring. Rhinegold is the story of the gods, possibly more so than the rest of the operas. One learns of the suffering of Wotan and the problems the gods have in repaying Fafner and Fasolt, the giants who built Valhalla. Since Wagner created Rhinegold to be the "Prelude" to the Ring, this opera perhaps is not as "free-standing" as the other works.

Nevertheless, Rhinegold introduces "the main lines of The Ring's dramatic conflict" and "many of the cycle's main musical ideas" (Blyth, 29). 2. Die Walkure: "The Valkyries" Brunnhilde and her father Wotan respectively struggle with their pride in order to decide the ultimate destiny of mortals. The Valkyries deals with the deep, but difficult relationship between gods and mortals. These gods also play games with one another, picking favorites and taking sides. Nobleness, especially in love, seems to come second to oaths--the divine promises--of the gods. Siegmund, the mortal hero, essentially dies because his father, Wotan, is under obligation to obey his lawful wife, Fricka. 3. Siegfried "Siegfried is often called the Scherzo of The Ring, suggesting that it is the lightest of the four dramas..." (Blyth, 83). It is the story of a hero, Siegfried, and how he grows into manhood to discover fear and love. Raised by the Nibelung Mime, Siegfried is young, innocent and cocky.

With the help of a mysterious Wanderer (who is really Wotan in disguise), Siegfried finds the pieces of his father's sword, Notung, reforges them and uses the instrument to kill the dragon Fafner who guards the hoard of Nibelung gold that formerly belonged to the Rhinemaidens. As a result of his killing of Fafner, Siegfried comes into possession of Alberich's cursed ring. But, Siegfried faces his ultimate challenge when he follows a birdsong to find the sleeping Brunnhilde whom fate has destined Siegfried to awaken and fall in love with. At the end of the opera, Siegfried gives the Ring to Brunnhilde to prove and symbolize his oath of love and fidelity to her. 4. Gotterdammerung: "The Twilight of the Gods" An ambiance of doom overabides The Twilight of the Gods. Wotan and the rest of the cycle's characters face the consequences of the choices they made throughout the stories of the first three operas. As predicted by the three Norns in the "Prelude" to this opera, the Nibelung Alberich's curse upon the Ring proves to be prophetic.

Everyone who comes into possession of it is ultimately destroyed. Although Wotan's disempowerment was foreshadowed in Siegfried by the breaking of his spear by Siegfried, the doomed fate of the gods and their All-Father Wotan is sealed when Alberich's evil son, Hagen dupes and cruelly murders the brave mortal hero Siegfried. Thus, The Twilight of the Gods , which is "a panorama of love and betrayal, good and evil, subconscious and overt events, grand, pictorial and private, intimate scenes" is "the climax of the whole Ring cycle" and "shows Wagner at zenith of his powers" (Blyth, 115). Ring Cycle | The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts April 30–May 22, 2016 | Opera House Libretto by the Composer In German with Projected English Titles WNO Co-Production with San Francisco Opera Washingtonians have eagerly awaited WNO’s first complete Ring Cycle, Richard Wagner’s extraordinary four-opera saga of gods and men, giants and dwarves.

First performed as separate WNO productions before being presented as a full cycle in San Francisco, The Ring in its entirety now returns to the nation’s capital, to be staged in three complete cycles across three weeks. Conceived and directed by Artistic Director Francesca Zambello and conducted by Music Director Philippe Auguin, the production brings together a world-class cast including British soprano Catherine Foster (Brünnhilde, Cycles I & II), Swedish soprano Nina Stemme (Brünnhilde, Cycle III), American tenor Daniel Brenna (Siegfried), American bass-baritone Alan Held (Wotan/The Wanderer), and many other top artists, including several reprising their roles from the original Washington productions. Additional events, ranging from expert-led lectures and engaging symposia to convenient dining options, give audiences even more ways to explore and celebrate The Ring’s WNO homecoming. Spectacularly evoking the mythology of America, Francesca Zambello’s acclaimed production draws provocative parallels between Wagner’s fantastical drama and civilization’s corruption of nature. The struggle for the possession of a powerful ring drives this extraordinary series of operas, in which the stakes—control of the entire world—could not be higher.

Reviews What people are saying "One of the best Ring cycles in more than a quarter of a century [by] one of the best directors working in opera today." —The Washington Post Performed in German with projected English translations Performance running time: 2 hours 30 minutes Das Rheingold Opera Overview “Owens’s portrayal is so richly layered that it may become part of the history of the work.” - The New Yorker on Eric Owens as Alberich in Das Rheingold Join us for an extraordinary story told over the course of four individual operas. Together, they comprise Wagner’s magnificent Ring cycle, one of the greatest musical achievements in Western culture and an artistic journey that every opera lover should experience. Lyric’s ambitious new Ring starts with Das Rheingold in 2016, conducted by our own celebrated music director, Sir Andrew Davis. We’ll meet the Rhinemaidens, guardians of magical gold that can be transformed into a ring that grants its owner unlimited power. When Alberich steals the gold, the struggle among the legendary characters begins, as Wotan, king of the gods, vies with him for supreme power.

Immerse yourself in thrilling drama and music of vast proportions during this first of four new productions from world-renowned director David Pountney. View Program Book Short Synopsis The Rhinemaidens are guarding magic gold. If anyone renounces love and then makes the gold into a ring, he will become all-powerful. The Nibelung dwarf Alberich does this, then enslaves his brother Mime and all the other Nibelungs. Wotan, the chief god, hears of the ring and descends to Nibelheim in pursuit of it. After being captured by Wotan and forced to give up the ring, Alberich curses it. Wotan is warned by Erda, the earth-goddess, to avoid the ring. He gives it — and the rest of Alberich’s riches — to the giants, Fasolt and Fafner, as payment for their having built Valhalla, the gods’ newly completed fortress. Fafner kills Fasolt to keep the ring for himself. The gods enter Valhalla with no hint of the catastrophes to come.

Scene 2: An open space before Valhalla Scene 3: Nibelheim Scene 4: An open space before Valhalla There will be no intermission. Scene 1. Woglinde and Wellgunde are guarding the gold at the bottom of the Rhine. Flosshilde chides them for negligence when the Nibelung dwarf Alberich appears. The Rhinemaidens quickly realize that lechery has brought the Nibelung to their domain. Sunlight illuminates the gold, and Alberich questions them about it. Wellgunde reveals that the man who renounces love and forges a ring from it will be master of the world. Cursing love, Alberich seizes the gold and rushes away with it. Scene 2. As Wotan awakens, he sees that his dream of a grand, imposing, beautiful, newly completed palace is realized. His wife, Fricka, is alarmed: now that the giants, Fasolt and Fafner, have completed the construction, the fee Wotan promised them must be paid – Fricka’s sister, Freia, goddess of youth and beauty.

Wotan assures Fricka that he never seriously intended to sacrifice Freia. When Freia pleads for protection from the giants, Wotan tells her that Loge, the demi-god of fire, has a plan to save her. The giants arrive, eager for their reward. Wotan suggests some other payment, but Fasolt warns him not to break their contract. The giants want Freia not only for herself, but also for her golden apples that ensure the gods’ eternal youth. When the giants attempt to take Freia with them, she summons her brothers, Donner and Froh, to her defense, but Wotan stifles the kindling violence. When Loge finally appears, the giants repeat their demand. Loge relates how Alberich stole the gold. The gods and giants feel threatened by the Nibelung’s new power. After convincing Fafner that the gold is more valuable than Freia, Fasolt announces that the two will accept it instead of Freia. Loge tells Wotan that there is only one way to obtain the gold: theft. The giants will return for the gold that evening – meanwhile, they take Freia away as a hostage.

Deprived of the apples, the gods begin to age and weaken. Wotan and Loge leave for Nibelheim, Alberich’s subterranean kingdom. Scene 3. Alberich torments his brother Mime, who yields the magic helmet – the Tarnhelm – that Alberich had ordered him to forge. When Alberich dons the Tarnhelm and becomes invisible, he beats his brother mercilessly. Wotan and Loge find Mime groaning in pain. From him they learn that Alberich has enslaved the Nibelungs and forced them to mine the gold, from which the power-hungry dwarf has amassed an enormous hoard for himself. Alberich ruthlessly drives his workers, but seeing the two gods, he is immediately suspicious. When he describes his helmet’s powers, Loge asks for a demonstration. Alberich then transforms himself first into a dragon, then a toad. Wotan swiftly captures the toad as Loge snatches the helmet. Alberich is restored to his original form and dragged away by the gods as a prisoner. Scene 4.

Wotan and Loge inform Alberich that he cannot regain his freedom unless he surrenders his treasures. Trusting the ring’s power to replenish his hoard, Alberich summons the Nibelungs, who appear carrying the gold. Alberich then learns that he must sacrifice the Tarnhelm. When forced to yield the ring, he curses it and whoever possesses it in the future. He leaves, free but powerless. Fricka, Donner and Froh return, eager to learn the result of Wotan’s mission. The giants arrive with Freia, and Fasolt, who is giving her up reluctantly, demands that the gold be piled so that it will hide her. When her hair gleams through a chink in the pile, Fafner demands that the Tarnhelm fill the opening, but Fafner can still see one of Freia’s eyes. He demands that Wotan close the space with the Nibelung’s ring that the god is wearing on his finger, but Wotan refuses. The earth-goddess Erda appears, reminding Wotan of the curse. He then throws the ring on the pile and reclaims Freia.

The giants soon quarrel over the ring, and Fafner kills his brother to possess it before departing with the treasure. Donner invokes thunder and lightning to clear the sky, so that the gods can properly admire their new home. When it comes into view, Wotan is thrilled. Naming it “Valhalla,” he invites Fricka to dwell there with him. A rainbow bridge appears, and as the gods cross it, they hear the Rhinemaidens pleading for the return of their gold. Loge prophesies the end of the gods. Ordering Loge to silence the Rhinemaidens, Wotan leads the gods as they enter Valhalla with pomp and ceremony. The Ring Cycle — Royal Opera House Götterdämmerung 1 October 2012 - 2 November 2012 Listen: Michael Portillo, Matthew d’Ancona and Martin Kettle discuss themes of politics and power in The Ring at an ROH Insight event. Full list of Insights events taking place alongside the Ring Find out more about The Ring Cycle and your reaction to the production in our News and Features section or read the BBC's introduction to The Ring .

Please note: Operas in The Ring Cycle are sold out but returns can now be bought online as soon as they are available. Only 23 Day Tickets will be available on the day to personal callers at the Box Office. There is only one ticket per person, and all of the tickets are towards the back of the Amphitheatre. The Box Office opens at 10am and the queue forms at the entrance situated under the covered arcade in the corner of Covent Garden Piazza. For Sunday performances, the Box Office will open at 11am, four hours before the start of the performance. Ticket Office Contact Info The Next Ring at Seattle Opera Seattle Opera has a long history of performing Wagner's Ring Cycle starting in 1975, with the most recent performances in August 2013 . Seattle Opera is committed to performing the full Ring Cycle under new General Director Aidan Lang. Please note: contrary to some 3rd party ticket seller website listings, our next Ring performances will not take place in 2017.It is always safest to purchase your live performance tickets directly from the venue or arts organization rather than using 3rd party resellers. Be the first to hear about the Ring when you join our email list.

Join Ring email list Explore Current Performances Can't wait for the next production? A complete recording of our epic 2013 Ring Cycle is available for purchase at our online gift shop. This 14-CD boxed set includes a 54-page booklet featuring full-color production photos, essays, and artist biographies, as well as libretti of the four operas in the original German with English translations. Also makes a great gift, especially for the Wagner-lovers in your life.

Question: How many operas comprise the Ring Cycle?
Answer: Four